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Deputy Minister of Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu has challenged the largest opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) to publicly explain to Ghanaians why it copied copiously from the All Peoples Congress (APC) manifesto.

According to him, the NPP which prides itself as a party of many intellectuals could not put together a team that will draft a manifesto independently, but had to plagiarize from a new party as the APC.

The Elephant family on Sunday October 9, launched its manifesto which it says will restore hope to Ghanaians at the Trade Fair Centre in Accra. The event saw various speakers including the Flagbearer Nana Akufo Addo, his running mate, Dr Mahamadu Bawumia and other leading members speak about policies that will be implemented in the NPP government beginning 2017 when elected into power.

But the APC on Sunday released a statement shortly after the NPP manifesto launch, threatening to sue the party for plagiarising its manifesto ideas.

The statement signed by APC General Secretary, Razak Kojo Opoku, said the NPP 2016 manifesto policies unveiled at the Ghana International Trade Fair on Sunday were full of ideas already put out by the APC.

“The NPP leadership has exhibited highly, gross academic dishonesty,” the statement said, describing the NPP as “Kalyppo People’s Party.”

Commenting on the controversy, on Neat FM Monday, Hon. Kwakye Ofosu stated that the NPP which claims to be the government in waiting has unfairly treated Ghanaians by serving the public with stolen ideas from the APC.

“I listened to Hassan Ayariga when he presented the APC manifesto about four days ago. If you compare what he put out and what the NPP presented yesterday, some of the portions are the same…word for word, and I’m not talking about ideas here which wouldn’t have been a big deal, but if you compare the two documents, you’ll realize that the NPP has plagiarized the APC manifesto. This is not the way the NPP should treat Ghanaians and the party owes Ghanaians an explanation as to why it has presented a document already put of by Hassan Ayariga.

“Currently, if one is discussing the NPP manifesto, the person is not even sure if he’s not rather discussing the APC manifesto because there are no differences between the two documents. The APC launched its manifesto about three days before the NPP did theirs so the NPP should explain how most of the contents are the same as the APC’s.”

Kwakye Ofosu added: “Where the NPP said Teachers, Nurses, Ghanaians are suffering, you go to page 6 of the APC manifesto and you see the same thing there…word for word not even did a letter change in the sentence. Under the Health section, the APC said it will build two prisons hospital, the same thing is the NPP manifesto, under the social development, what the APC has indicated it will do, the NPP is saying the same thing. The NPP must be told that this is unacceptable.”